by KYW's Mike Dunn
Blue Bell, Pa.-based Unisys Corporation has announced that it will not be moving into center city Philadelphia after all.
Last August the city's zoning board refused to allow Unisys to erect a 16-foot-high sign on the facade of the Two Liberty Place skyscraper (in artist's rendering above), where Unisys was planning to relocate (see previous stories). But the lack of a sign was apparently not the reason that Unisys pulled the plug on their planned move.
Unisys blamed the current economic downturn and their need to control costs for its decision, and says it will keep its corporate headquarters with about 225 employees in Blue Bell (Montgomery County). Unisys employs a total of about 1,500 people throughout the Delaware Valley.
In a prepared statement, Unisys chairman and CEO Ed Coleman said:
“These are difficult times for businesses around the region and the country, and Unisys is no exception. Keeping our headquarters in Blue Bell will enable Unisys to keep our team together in one place and contain costs as the company works through a very challenging business environment.”
Unisys also praised mayor Michael Nutter and his administration for their efforts to facilitate the company’s proposed move to Philadelphia.
“Mayor Nutter and his team have been extremely responsive and a pleasure to work with,” said Lawrence Wieser, vice president of global operations at Unisys. “We have been very impressed with the professionalism they’ve shown and the ideas they’ve brought forth throughout this process. Our decision is purely economic and is the best one for our company at this time.”
Mayor Nutter spoke to CEO Coleman and says that Coleman confirmed that the bad economy, not the sign, was the reason:
"He felt that, at this moment at least, it would be disruptive to engage in a major relocation. This has nothing to do with the zoning board or a sign. This is about economics and a pure business decision and calculation."
Nutter is disappointed but holds out hope that Unisys might look again at Philadelphia when the economy improves:
"That door, for our purposes and for the CEO, Mr. Coleman, remains open."
(Artist's rendering from Unisys Corp.)
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